Notary Rules and Regs - Mississippi

1 1 Title 1: Secretary of State Part 5: Business Services Notaries Public Part 5 Chapter 1: Notary Rule The Secretary of State is required to issue Rules to implement the Mississippi Notary Law, in accordance with Senate Bill 2647 of the 2007 Session of the Mississippi Legislature, Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended, effective July 1, 2007. The purpose of this chapter is to implement the Mississippi Notary Law, clarify and establish qualifications for the office of Notary Public, to provide written guidelines on Notary practice, to provide for the revocation or suspension of a Notary commission for official misconduct, misfeasance or malfeasance in office and to prescribe required forms and establish certain fees.

2 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Definitions. The following terms shall have the respective meanings provided in these Rules . Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Acknowledgment. Acknowledgment means a notarial act in which an individual at a single time and place: A. appears in person before the Notary and presents a document; B. is personally known to the Notary or identified by the Notary through satisfactory evidence ; and C. indicates to the Notary that the signature on the document was voluntarily affixed by the individual for the purposes stated within the document and, if applicable, that the individual had due authority to sign in a particular representative capacity.

3 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Affirmation. Affirmation means a notarial act, or part thereof, which is legally equivalent to an oath and in which an individual at a single time and place: (1). appears in person before the Notary ; (2). is personally known to the Notary or identified by the Notary through satisfactory evidence ; and (3). makes a vow of truthfulness or fidelity on penalty of perjury, based on personal honor and without invoking God or using any form of the word swear.

4 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Appears in person before the Notary . Appears in person before the Notary means that the principal and the Notary are physically close enough to see, hear, communicate with, and give identification documents to each other. 2 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Commission. Commission means both to empower to perform notarial acts and the written evidence of authority to perform those acts. Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq.

5 Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Credible witness means an honest, reliable, and impartial person who personally knows an individual appearing before a Notary and takes an oath or affirmation from the Notary to vouch for that individual s identity. Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Felony or disqualifying felony means the conviction of any of the crimes below under the laws of this state or any other state or country: A. Murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy, B.

6 Theft in subsection (1) includes the following offenses: larceny, taking unlawful possession of a motor vehicle, armed robbery, robbery, receiving stolen property, extortion, felony shoplifting and timber larceny. C. You may, however, apply for the office of Notary Public if you have been convicted of a disqualifying felony if: 1. You have received a full and complete pardon from the Governor for your crime(s) or if the Mississippi Legislature has restored your right to suffrage (right to vote), and 2. Disclose your conviction(s) in your application and provide copies of the conviction order(s) and supply a copy of the Pardon from the Governor or Act of the Legislature restoring your rights.

7 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Journal of notarial acts and journal mean a device for creating and preserving a chronological record of notarizations performed by a Notary . Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Jurat means a notarial act in which an individual at a single time and place: (1). appears in person before the Notary and presents a document; (2). is personally known to the Notary or identified by the Notary through satisfactory evidence ; (3).

8 Signs the document in the presence of the Notary ; and (4). takes an oath or affirmation from the Notary vouching for the truthfulness or accuracy of the signed document. Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. 3 Rule Legal resident or other legal resident of the United States. Legal resident or other legal resident of the United States means that you must have been granted permanent resident status in the United States by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. You must possess a Resident Alien Identification Card (Green Card) issued directly to you by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

9 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Notarial act and notarization. Notarial act and notarization mean any act that a Notary is empowered to perform under law or regulation. Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Notarial certificate and certificate. Notarial certificate and certificate mean the part of, or attachment to, a notarized document that is completed by the Notary , bears the Notary s signature and seal, and states the facts attested by the Notary in a particular notarization.

10 Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Notary public and Notary . Notary public and Notary mean any person commissioned to perform official acts under the laws of this state. Source: Section 25-33-1 et seq. Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. Rule Oath. Oath means a notarial act, or part thereof, which is legally equivalent to an affirmation and in which an individual at a single time and place: A. appears in person before the Notary ; B. is personally known to the Notary or identified by the Notary through satisfactory evidence ; and C.